Although Buddhism’s ideas of spiritual enlightenment and nirvana appealed to peasants and aristocrats alike during the vacuum that was the fall of the Han dynasty, it was rejected by the imperial rule that was reestablished after 570 C.E. This is clearly seen by Buddhism’s initial appeal to the masses of China (Docs 1, 2), its popularity and spread amongst the chaos that was the fall of the Han dynasty (Docs 2, 3), and the negative reactions after imperial rule was restored with the Tang dynasty (Docs 3, 4, 5, 6).

Buddhism’s original allure is clearly evident in the Buddha’s “Four Noble Truths” in the fifth century B.C.E. and Zhi Dun’s writing in 350 C.E. The Buddha’s idea for “the Stopping of all Sorrow” provided Chinese of all background an ability to, according to Zhi Dun, “be enlightened in his spirit” and then “enter Nirvana” (Docs 1, 2). The Buddha’s message was laid out centuries before in India to provide people of all castes or classes to bypass the social pecking order and reach social enlightenment. This is what made it highly appealing in China. While Zhi Dun was most likely an aristocrat due to his close ties with officials, education, and importance in political affairs, it is safe to assume that the Buddha’s message was attractive to all classes of China. Of course, it would be helpful to have a document from a peasant as a way of confirming their attitude towards the Buddha and the path to Nirvana.

The spread and popularity of Buddhism is seen clearly in Zhi Dun’s writing in 350 C.E. and the Chinese scholar’s “The Disposition of Error” circa 500 C.E. “In this era of sensual pleasures”, the anonymous Chinese scholar states that the monk attains goodness and wisdom “in exchange for the joys of having a wife and children”(Docs 2, 3). The chaos left by the fall of the Han dynasty from 220 C.E. to 570 C.E. left something to be desired. As the anonymous scholar explains that “All written works need not necessarily be the words of...

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...religion, starting in India and spreading to China, was being accepted all over Asia. Although Buddhism was spreading, not all of the people in China wanted it to become their main religion over Confucianism and other small religions that had popped up. Some of the people in China thought that by accepting Buddhism that they would be going against their own traditions and their way of life. Two other documents that would be helpful in finding how the Buddhist religion affected the people of China would be a diary entry from a merchant to show how the people of the lower class looked at Buddhism, and a Map that shows the spread of Buddhism across China to see how many people converted to Buddhism.
Many who accepted Buddhism saw the religion as a way to start their life fresh and keep their life simple. Zhi Dun, a Chinese scholar, says that the basics of Buddhism are that if you serve Buddha, and obey his “laws”, then you will be enlightened and will enter “Nirvana”. As a high government official he believes that the “laws” of Buddhism are needed to run a correct and proper society. In the document by Buddhist monk, it talks about “The Four Noble Truths”, the first speech spoken by Buddha, introducing Buddhism. Buddha talks about “the Noble Truth of Sorrow”, “the Noble Truth of arising Sorrow”, and “the Noble truth of the Stopping of Sorrow” to...

...Buddhism originated in India in the sixth century B.C.E. and was brought to China by the first century C.E. Overtime, many Chinese people converted to Buddhism, especially after the fall of the Han dynasty. During the Era of Division between 220 C.E. and 570 C.E., many Confucian and Buddhist scholars viewed Buddhism as a positive, unifying force for China during that tough time of instability because it gave the people something to look to for hope. However, after 570 C.E., Confucian scholars started rejecting Buddhism, feeling that it was becoming a threat to the scholar-gentry class and the Confucian-based Chinese society as a whole. Despite this change of opinion about Buddhism after 570 C.E., some scholars continued to feel that Buddhism benefitted China due to its values and teachings. One additional document that could be useful would be one from the point of view of a peasant to see the way Buddhism effected the lower classes of China before and after 570 C.E. and to see if they saw Buddhism as a positive or negative factor in their lives.
Before 570 C.E., a majority of Chinese scholars viewed Buddhism as a positive aspect of their culture. Right after the fall of the Han empire, China was in chaos and was not as unified as they used to be. The bureaucracy was weakened and China was politically unstable. The common people and the...

...world so he spent time meditating to sort out his troubles and originally founded the philosophy of Buddhism. He then determined that suffering was the punishment of human desire so he went to spread his beliefs. He then became know as the “enlightened one.” The philosophy soon became a religion that opposed the caste system and encouraged followers to find their divine essence. Buddhism was spread into China by the Silk Road Trade Route in 265 CE and it began its teachings there on. When Buddhism was spread to China in 265 BCE, many nomadic and lower class groups took condolence in the religion’s beliefs while in contrary, many Confucianist leaders/emperors fought against Buddhism in order to preserve the culture and organization that Confucianism withheld in Chinese society.
In Document 1, Buddha is preaching The Four Noble Truths. It preaches that you are born into sorrow and unhappiness and then you begin to have a craving for passion and pleasure, which soon develops into the sorrow stopping so that no craving remains. It ends with how following a simple life and leading “The Way” leads to the end of sorrow. The author is Buddha who created the truths and followed them. The point of view is supporting Buddhism and its ability to give condolence to people in hard times of sorrow, such as slaves or women. However, the POV of Buddha was biased because as the creator of Buddhism, it was...

...and Buddhism
Daoism and Buddhism are two religions which are linked through many similarities. For many years Daoism and Buddhism worked off of one another and absorbed some teachings and texts of the other’s religion. There was an exchanging of ideas between the two which helped shape the two religions. Despite these similarities, though, there was also a bitter rivalry between the two for several years. While the two religions have worked together to form some similar teachings, there are some major differences in beliefs which resulted in disagreements between them. The rivalry stemmed from both the desire to be the dominant religion in China as well as the differences in their beliefs.
The religion of Daoism is an organized religious tradition that developed in China and has continuously changed and reinvented itself based on a vast diversity of environmental and religious influences which it is surrounded by. It has now continued to transform itself throughout China, Korea, and Japan for over two thousand years. One of the prominent things about Daoism is that it is constantly developing itself rather than just following one line of thinking. This type of religious thought caused some problems between Daoism and Buddhism. There were several periods of time during the development of Daoism which reflected what religious influence was surrounding them at the time.
Daoism was growing in China at the same time...

...“The Third Noble Truth is the Truth of the Stopping of Sorrow: It is complete stopping of that craving…being released from it, giving no place to it” (Document1). The spread of Buddhism in China was due to the appeal it had on the people and the influence it made on the culture, like the Third Noble Truth states, stopping sorrow leads to one being content and being released from any heavy sorrow weighing you down, a life which describes and explains the spread of this particular religion in China, the way of life appealed to the people. Although many officials and scholars disagreed to the Buddhist ways, it did not stop others from converting and spreading the religion. In this essay I will discuss the spread of Buddhism in China and the impact it had on the culture.
Zhi Dun, a Chinese scholar in circa 350 C.E., stated that anyone who follows in the foot steps of Buddha and commits to the religion, will “…behold the Buddha and be enlightened in his spirit, and then he will enter Nirvana,” (Document 2). By reading this document one must concluded that Dun believes that by following the Buddhist doctrine, one will live enlighten and enter “Nirvana”. Dun was an author and a confidant of the Chinese aristocrats and high officials, so as seeing his beliefs in this religion it is proven that some, possibly many Chinese elites also followed the Buddhist doctrine, which proves that the religion spread to more than just peasants and merchants. In...

...DBQ- Buddhism
When Buddhism first began to spread into china, reactions were mixed. While many people supported the idea, others were neutral, and a large number opposed Buddhism’s growing popularity. The opinions on the spread were not always cultural; many had underlying political origins. Those that supported this idea were typically those left without rights by the old Confucian ideals or people who were looking for an alternate for Confucianism. Some reacted neutrally so as to gain the favor of both sides. On the flip side as Buddhism began to change Confucian values, the people in power turned strictly against the new belief system in an effort to keep ancient tradition.
As Buddhism spread into China, it was highly accepted into an empire looking to have a fresh start and establish a new or different belief system(other than Confucianism) to govern the state through, and many peasants and women supported this because they found welcome in this religion, while many others supported it merely for political gain. Buddha preached of four noble truths, all of which took people and their sorrows and helped them reach enlightenment; he applied his preachings to any person, which lead to popularity and the spread of religion (Doc 1). Zhi Dun, a Buddhist scholar, promoted the practice of Buddhism, referring to enlightenment and Nirvana as examples of Buddhism’s power. Zhi Dun, being a...

...Mr. Coe Pd. 7 BuddhismDBQ By the first century C.E. Buddhism had begun to spread through China. There were multiple reactions to the spread of Buddhism. While many Chinese accepted, encouraged, and defended Buddhist teaching, others rejected them because they did not comply with ancient Chinese texts and traditions still others questioned the Buddhist teaching within China without rejecting them completely. Many Chinese people during this period of instability and disunity supported Buddhism and its teachings. After the Han Dynasty collapsed there was no central political power. China was ruled by small regional powers that did not provide unity or support to the Chinese people. They were willing to cling to any form of stability, and the Buddhist religion gave them that. Document 2 states that 350 C.E. was a time of sensual pleasures. 350 C.E. was also the time period in which northern China was being invaded my northern steppe nomads. This shows that Buddhist followers were able to see past the terrors that their empire was facing and appreciate life based on the Buddhist teachings. This encouraged others to begin practicing Buddhism. Zhi Dun is a Chinese scholar and author, as well as a confident of Chinese aristocrats and officials. He is obviously high up in the social pyramid and because of that most likely thinks highly of himself and his views. He did not mention any...

...The Han Dynasty fell in 220 C.E. allowing Buddhism to spread and go to China gaining followers. Buddhism was founded in India in the sixth century B.C. Also in India came a time called the Dark Age and then following that was the golden age. Many people in China lost interest in Buddhism and were against it thinking it was a threat to Confucianism; others were pro Buddhism. These groupings helped identify how well and poorly Buddhism’s spread affected China. During the period of political instability Buddhism did however flourish in China. People began seeking salvation because of the constant warfare thus converting to Buddhism. Conversely when an imperial structure started to come back Buddhism was against what was needed for the empire to thrive as people also thought it threatened their political power, it then lost appeal and soon faded but not fully dying. Buddhism came to China as a fresh new religion and attracted many people. A Buddhist tradition (Doc. 1) consists of “The Four Noble Truths”. This was a way of life for people who worshiped Buddhism. The truths are about sorrow, overcoming it, and stopping it. As people began seeking for recovery it was “The Four Noble Truths” they looked to for an outlook on life. Many people believed in Buddhist concepts, and not Confucianism concepts. One thing that was heavily supported was the...